His voice, soft and gravelly, was a hum over my face. “Miranda, I never meant to hurt you.” His throat bobbed on a swallow. “I’m so sorry.”
My breath tumbled. “Jack.”
“There’s nothing the two of us did wrong. You did everything you could. And I—I just didn’t know.” He raked his hands down my hair then placed them back on my face. “I promise I would’ve taken—” He abruptly stopped, changing course. He sighed. “You would’ve had choices. You wouldn’t have needed Chris. I hope you know that.”
I nodded. “I know, Jack.”
“I keep trying to put myself in your shoes. But even imagining how much this hurt you is so painful I can hardly stand it.”
Tears immediately filled my eyes. So painful. He had no idea. No inkling of everything I’d gone through. But Jack had been through so much too.
“I’ve been thinking the same about you. I wanted you to be a part of Kacey’s life. I can’t imagine how you feel right now.”
He nodded, and we let the suckiness of the situation marinate in the silence between us for a moment.
“We’re going to figure all thisout.” He guided my head back against him and I relented, rebelliously loving this hug and wanting it to never end. His voice rumbled beneath my ear. “Can I be honest?”
I nodded as his chest expanded with a deep breath then collapsed with a sigh.
“I’m fighting the urge to run out the door and be anywhere but here. I’m sorry I’ve been gone all week. We should’ve had this conversation days ago.”
I slowly pushed back, willing myself to break out of his embrace. I instantly felt cold. “Yes, we should’ve.”
Jack stuck his hands into the hoodie pocket. “We can talk now though?”
“Yeah.” I sat down and he did too. A good safe distance away.
I didn’t want to talk about this stuff either, but the stroke of maturity from Jack meant the world to me. He was trying to do the right thing. We’d figure this out. We had to. For Kacey.
“I went to Bree’s insurance agency today.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s an insurance agent?”
He nodded.
“What happened?”
“She insinuated that we should hook up.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I was shocked. Apparently, her marriage is very open."
"Ew. That's disgusting." I knew he was used to women making themselves available, but that was a whole new level.
He lifted a shoulder. "I called her a snotty bitch.”
I grunted, trying to hold in a snort of laughter. The idea of Jack insulting Bree made me way too happy. “Seriously?”
He nodded, a tiny smile pulling his cheeks back.
“Do you feel better after seeing her?”
“No. Not at all.”
